Thursday 21 March 2024

A stay at home day today, working on paperwork and planning Ireland. We managed to plug the Polestar into the house electrical circuit last night and all the lights that were meant to go green did and no other light fitting or appliance caught fire or blew up. The car told us that it would reach 90% (the recommended top up) by 0300 this morning.

Flashy was wide awake at 0700 and raced down to check. Yep, all charged and everything shipshape.

We had two video calls from friends in Cairns this morning, which was nice. They were drinking McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon and an Argentinean Malbec and nibbling on pizza, us still in our jimjams and slippers sipping on a coffee. A far cry from the old days when you could use Telstra international roaming to make mobile calls, provided you took a second mortgage on the house first. Or the old, old days when you wrote an aerogram occasionally and posted it home. Some got there before you returned.

Spring has arrived here. The morning sun is shining through the study window and the blossom and flowers are bursting out. We can hardly remember the few days of rain we had and remarked that for a) being in England and b) it being winter, we really have had pretty good weather. I hope I just haven’t jinxed it!

We head to Kent in three days time and are trying to eat out the fridge, as you do. Not much left in the freezer other than ice for the gin.

Lady P is off for her 8 km walk and Flashy decides to walk the 1 km (down hill slightly), to the pub and meet her there on her return leg. Having been planning all things Ireland lately, I have read the controversy started when someone on social media said the three step pour demanded by Guinness is a load of rubbish. Here’s what Guinness say you must do or you’ll go to hell.

1. The Initial Pour: 

Hold your glass at a 45-degree angle and aim the tap nozzle for the gold harp logo on the glass. Pour until you reach the top of the harp, then stop. Yes, it's half-full, but patience is a virtue! 

2. Let the Pint of Guinness Settle: 

Set your half-poured Guinness down and let it rest. This is the 'surge and settle' phase. You'll see the darker stout slowly sinking under the creamy, white foam—a delightful spectacle indeed! 

3. Topping Off the Pint: 

Once your Guinness has settled (typically after about 60-80 seconds, not that we're counting), fill up the rest of the glass. This time, the glass stays straight, and you'll fill until the foam forms a slight dome over the top. Now you've got that beautiful Guinness head. 

So Flashy engages the delightful barmaid with the story that this has been firmly labelled a marketing exercise and the camp is divided to be sure.

This means that he has to have a pint of Guinness and she has to pour it. Her view is that it’s crap and is indeed a marketing ploy. She demonstrates by pouring a perfect Guinness in one go. But she is also an educated barmaid, who goes on to say that modern taps and gas regulators have made a single pour or at least a very short 'settle', very easy. “Them old pump handles, well you needed to have a rest half way with them buggars!” Anyway the Guinness was delightful and after a gin and tonic, we walked home. A long soaking bath is the order, even though I know it’s not Saturday.

The magnolia is blooming